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DE RUCNDT #1039/01 3202209
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P 162209Z NOV 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3134
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001039 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAL IS
SUBJECT: BIASED UNGA COMMITTEE DEBATES ISRAELI PRACTICES IN 
THE TERRITORIES 
 
¶1. (SBU) Begin Summary and Comment:  The UN General 
Assembly's Fourth Committee met November 12-14 to receive and 
debate the annual "Report of the (UN) Special Committee to 
Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of 
the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied 
Territories."  The three-day debate included statements from 
30 countries (primarily Arab and Muslim states), most of 
which condemned Israel's "occupation" of Arab lands, 
construction of the separation barrier and settlements, 
administration of "collective punishment" of Palestinians, 
targeted killings, and obstruction of the free movement of 
Palestinians.  The Syrian PR accused Israel of actions that 
"take us back to the dark ages of Nazism and fascism." 
Israel called the Committee's actions shameful, and 
characterized the rhetoric as "a relic from a by-gone era." 
Given the focus of this Special Committee, which was first 
established in the 1970s, it was inevitable that many Arab 
and Muslim states would expound at great length on their 
views regarding Israeli practices.  Most of these states, 
however, expressed much more balanced positions in support of 
efforts to advance the peace process when they took the floor 
in the General Assembly during the opening days of this 
session.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
The Report of the Special Committee 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Sri Lankan PR Prasad Kariyawasam, Chair of the 
Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting 
the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of 
the Occupied Territories, delivered the committee's annual 
report to the Fourth Committee November 12.  (The UNGA's 
Fourth Committee handles issues related to decolonization and 
special political matters.)  The report was largely a retread 
of past reports including the following allegations:  that 
Israel has denied the Special Committee access to the 
occupied territories covered by its mandate; that 
self-determination for Palestinians continues to be an 
elusive goal because of violations by Israel of human rights 
and international humanitarian law, including Israel's 
"collective punishment" of 1.5 million Gazans, military 
incursions, shelling and air strikes, and targeted 
assassinations.  The chairman condemned the "accelerated" 
settlement activity in the West Bank, as well as the 
construction of the separation barrier.  He asserted that 80 
percent of the barrier is being built upon occupied 
Palestinian territory, and that upon completion the barrier 
will encompass 13 percent of the West Bank. 
 
General Debate 
-------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The great majority of the 30 delegations that made 
statements called for a halt to Israel's construction of the 
separation barrier.  Many referred to the International Court 
of Justice's opinion on this matter.  Several countries -- 
Qatar, Libya, Yemen, and Jordan -- condemned Israel's 
excavation activities around the Temple Mount.  Iran accused 
Israel of "state terrorism, targeted assassination, 
extrajudicial killing, collective punishment, property 
confiscation and destruction, mass arrests and arbitrary 
detention, humiliating and cruel treatment of the 
Palestinians and other Arabs detained in Israeli jail."  New 
Zealand and Portugal, on behalf of the European Union, 
condemned rocket attacks on Israeli soil and urged Israel to 
use restraint when defending itself.  Portugal also condemned 
Israeli settlement activities, which it said is in violation 
of international law and the Roadmap. 
 
Palestine and Syrian Statements 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Syria's statement was the most extreme.  The Syrian 
Permanent Representative accused Israel of actions that "take 
us back to the dark ages of Nazism and fascism."  He accused 
Israel of burying nuclear waste in the Golan close to the 
Syrian border, and said, "we are in a hurry to reach peace, 
but we are not willing to give up land.  This land will be 
Syrian sooner or later."  Syria said that Israel flaunts 
international law because of the support that it receives 
from "this influential state or that."  He continued, "This 
action is a pouring of oil on fire and Israel should expect 
an appropriate response in time."  Syria urged the 
international community to take concrete measures to force 
Israel to respect international orders. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Palestinian representative accused Israel of 
"oppression, violence, colonization, collective punishment, 
and apartheid." He condemned the construction of the 
separation barrier and said, "It is clearly being built not 
 
USUN NEW Y 00001039  002 OF 002 
 
 
for security reasons but primarily in an attempt to de facto 
annex more land, particularly on which the settlements have 
been illegally built."  He also accused Israel of restricting 
the freedom of movement, the destruction of livelihoods, the 
obstruction of access to medical care, education, essential 
humanitarian aid, places of religious worship, and securing 
an adequate standard of living.  He concluded by calling for 
a two-State solution, on the basis of the 1967 borders, with 
East Jerusalem as its capital. 
 
Israel's Statement 
------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Israeli representative described the 
Committee's report as "replete with duplication bordering on 
plagiarism and one-sided propaganda," and he called the 
Committee "a relic from a by-gone era" whose existence cannot 
be justified morally, intellectually, or politically.  Israel 
criticized the Committee for not placing any responsibility 
upon Arabs for their situation.  He called the Committee's 
conduct "shameful," and said that the real agenda of the 
Committee is not to help Palestinians but to harm Israel. 
After discussing some of the anti-Jewish accusations from the 
Committee, the Israeli delegate said, "We can, however, find 
consolation in the fact that since the Special Committee is 
such a marginal and even trivial body, it is very unlikely 
that many people outside this room have ever heard of it - 
never mind actually read their reports." 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Fourth Committee will consider five resolutions 
on November 20 under Agenda Item 34: Special Committee to 
Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of 
the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied 
Territories. 
 
--"Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli 
Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian 
People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories" 
 
--"Applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the 
Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 
1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East 
Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories" 
 
--"Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 
including East Jerusalem, and the Occupied Syrian Golan" 
 
--"Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the 
Palestinian People in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 
including East Jerusalem" 
 
--"The Occupied Syrian Golan" 
Khalilzad